F. Stokes of Chicago, IL is a Hip-Hop, Spoken Word, and Blues performer whose live performance dwarfs his recorded material we have heard to date. No disrespect to the material of his which is currently available digitally and physically; it is a testament to F dot’s ability to work a crowd and deliver a believable performance.

Coming on strong at the Union Transfer stage, F dot caught his groove as far as we were concerned about two songs in. At this point, the show had gotten personal and a hooper named Halo was brought on stage as a set accouterments dazzling the audience with the vibrant light and motion of her hula hoop. F dot rolled through songs creating little vignettes with each. First sitting on the edge of the stage when no bar stool could be delivered to him and addressing those in the pit while they we sitting down (a request had been made for us to do so, and the audience naturally obliged). Going between rhymes and spoken word with a DJ filling in the blanks, F dot joined those of us in the pit and proceeded to deliver all but his last songs from this location. He worked the crowd like a true pro having us circle around him and having audience members complete song verses while addressing others specifically. It was an amazing experience to be sure. First of a kind at the Union Transfer for LPC.

At the end of the evening, we really felt we knew this guy – F. Stokes – a man who wears his heart on his sleeve and is not afraid to be different and be judged for it. A man who appreciates his audience and has no intentions of putting himself on a pedestal around them. F. Stokes is a real person, a real performer, and a real musician. Check out some video from the evening below: